Show Old oil shale claims face dace invalidation ruling More than old mining claims to federal oil shale land may be wiped off the books as a result of a decision by the Interior Departments Department's Board of Land Appeals the department said TilE THE BOARDS BOARD'S ruling directly invalidated only six claims filed before 1920 but it set a precedent endangering all other pre 1920 oil shale claims covering at least acres of federal land in Colorado Utah and Wyoming Oil shale claims that were patented by the department bet between n 1920 and 1960 remain valid and are not affected by the boards board's decision a department spokesman said nUT HUT TilE THE boards board's ruling unless appealed and reversed in incourt incourt incourt court would mean that no pre pre- 1920 oil shale claim can be patented and these old claims would be open to department action invalidating them The old oil shale claims began attracting the attention of oil oU companies and the government in recent years as oil shale itself began to show promise of becoming commercially competitive even though the theold theold theold old claims had never been developed That in fact is why the Board of Land Appeals invalidated six of them THEY TilEY HAD been filed flIed the department explained not on the basis of their then then current value oil oil shale could not then be developed but in anticipation that the oil shale would some day become a valuable mineral mineraI The 1872 Mining Act had opened federal land to exploration and purchase of valuable mineral minerai deposits IN TilE THE years since enactment of the general genera mining law value has always been determined upon present facts not upon possibilities of the future the three-member three board ruled in an opinion by Chief Administrative Judge Newton Frishberg Continued on Page 8 Shale claims Continued from Page Fage 1 Speculation that oil shale may someday be valuable In an economic sense is not evidence of its present value of 1920 or 1966 the Board said Tim THE RIGHT to receive title to federal public land cannot be supported by such speculation Between 1920 and 1960 the Interior Department gave title to Federal oil shale lands on the basis of possible future value by issuing patents for 2326 claims on acres BUT nUT TilE THE board said doing things wrong for 40 years was no reason to keep on doing them wrong In 1970 administrative law Judge Dent D D. D Dalby ruled that pre 1920 oil shale claims were valid but noted that he was basing his decision on the 40 years of department patenting policy TilE THE DECISION of the board reversed Dalbys Dalby's decision Concurring with Judge Frishberg Frishberg Frish- Frish berg were administrative tive judges Martin and Douglas E E. E Henriques |